New global tropical cyclone data set from ISCCP B1 geostationary satellite observations

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Abstract
In light of recently documented hypotheses relating long-term trends in tropical cyclone (TC) activity and global warming, the need for consistent reanalyses of historical TC data records has taken on a renewed sense of urgency. Such reanalyses rely on satellite data, but until now, no comprehensive global satellite data set has been available for studying tropical cyclones. Here a new hurricane satellite (HURSAT) data record is introduced that will facilitate the reanalysis of TCs by providing satellite imagery in a standard format for the period of record 1983 to 2005. The data are collected from Japanese, European and U.S. geostationary satellites and the infrared window channel data, which are particularly relevant for TC analyses, have been recalibrated to reduce inter-satellite differences. Observations are provided on a 0.07{degree sign}×0.07{degree sign} (~8km) Lagrangian grid that follows the TC center at 3-hourly intervals. The data set will be updated annually and work is also underway to expand the data set backward to the late 1970s.
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